Smart specialisation is an innovative approach promoting efficient and targeted public investments for research and innovation to enable countries and regions to capitalise their strengths and create new competitive advantage. National and regional smart specialisation strategies serve as compasses for ESI Funds investments in research and innovation.

To support the smart specialisation European Commission has launched the strategic partnership initiative for supporting the smart specialisation investments and establishments of the thematic platforms. Idea is to put the partnering process in place for strategic inter-regional collaboration, where clusters, innovation actors and SMEs are supported to find complimentary competences, accessing value chains that cut across national, regional and sectoral boundaries. In addition, better access to technology centres, including KETs infrastructures and digital innovation hubs are facilitated. This shall better position actors to benefit from investments and initiatives in the context of smart specialization.

Although the strategic partnership is seeking EU wide partnership, it would be wise to seek the potential of partnership having focus on Arctic taking into account the special circumstances while operating in the arctic territory. Industrial modernisation, energy and agri-food are all important and relevant topics for us. We will focus our two sub groups into Industrial Modernisation and Energy (including emerging industries and KETs in both groups). Agri-food topic is addressed in Challenge 2.

The expression “Arctic region or territory” often brings to mind stereotypes such as snow and ice but the region has so much more to offer: vast natural recourses, good infrastructure and an innovative way of thinking. Northernmost Europe is more than a wilderness.

Multiple alternatives in utilising of pure natural recourses, clean water, growing forests and dozens of hundreds of lakes could safeguard livelihood and provide new business in the peripheral rural communities. Brave and open-minded decisions are needed while investing to the future. By decreasing the capital leakage from the communities throughout energy consumption and food we aim for thriving countryside. We are seeking after the real potential and implementing the smart utilisation of the available assets in the communities. This could provide new breeding ground for the emerging industries, such as processes for circular economy and many fields of bioeconomy. We do have all possibilities in our hands in breaking the tendency of declining economies in peripheral rural communities.

“We live in the midst of nature’s own treasure trove. If we combine the expertise of those operating in different sectors in Lapland, we will have the knowledge and skills to develop the products and services that are already high in quality into world class success stories. We just need to dismiss our notions of a dying countryside and trace a new smartly specialised, living rural Lapland of opportunities. Arctic Smart Rural Communities Cluster Manager Johannes Vallivaara.
3. Stimulating sustainable arctic policy – being an active partner

Arctic has become more important on many levels of EU policy making. There are major global factors behind ranging from climate change and fluctuations in the balance of power in global economy to the increased demand for natural resources. Climate change and the possible melting of polar ice may lead to opening up a new sea route to the Arctic Ocean and a new commercial route to Asia, which has gradually become the centre of power of the new global economy. Climate change will also increase the exploitation of minerals and natural resources in northern regions. Arctic as territory is a playground of global markets and geopolitical interest.

At the same time, it is a home for the number of nations and inhabitants living and running their livelihoods. Although the region is sparsely populated, there are active and innovative people. In the European Arctic we have had active interregional collaboration often supported by the different EU funding programmes, Nordic Council of Ministers or other national funding instruments. Number of different types of successful projects have been implemented during the last decades. We are eager to seek more coherent collaboration and exchange of information between different actors in the north. Most of all we need to have common expression of interest towards Arctic development, which we need to express in the EU context and arenas. Common priorities to the sustainable utilisation of natural resources and natural conditions, increasing added value, making more efficient use of the expertise already accumulated in Arctic, will be the cornerstone of the future vital Arctic region.

Expected outputs and follow through results

Arctic Innovation Camp intents to empower, create more synergy, have better impact and improve the visibility of the actors in Arctic regions. It is imperative that Arctic Regions are seen and recognised as active Arctic territorial stakeholders and regional innovators in the EU and EU’s arctic policy. This is done by bringing the whole EU’s Arctic region to the table amongst the frontrunners - active and successful Smart Specialisation implementers.

The three challenges are designed in a fashion that they are foreseen as instruments and possibilities for putting Arctic issues and policies into actions and capitalising S3 approaches Throughout the Arctic Territories (NSPA regions http://www.nspa-network.eu/). Arctic Innovation Camp outputs and innovations will be taken on by the participating NSPA regions and parties involved in the execution of their respected Smart Specialisation (S3) Strategies and also by in particular the actors of Arctic Smartness Excellence ERDF project Clusters.

Both the Arctic Innovation Camp and Lapland EWRC Local Event are seen as starting points for a prototyping process that are aiming towards acquiring the following results:

Support in the creation of two potential expressions of interest and aid in the partnering process towards European Strategic Cluster Partnerships for smart specialisation via the partner search tool at http://www.clustercollaboration.eu/partner-search by the end of December 2016

Gain understanding and knowledge how to obtain the ESCP-S3 Label and how to upgrade and use it in a Call for the expression of interest Towards European Strategic Cluster Partnerships for smart specialisation investments

Find the most suitable way to integrate critical mass and utilisation of research and innovations infrastructure using the TRL (Technology Readiness Level) assessments and chaining several development environments to maximise the speed which supports to-the-market approach in the implementation of S3 strategies and partnering process in the context of industrial modernisation in particular the resource efficiency. This will be a genuine international currency in R&D integration to the S3 implementation.

Arctic Industrial Modernisation seen through remote urban empowerment utilising circular economy and redirecting resources within communities and used as a resource to realise regional entrepreneurship.

Understanding, identifying and supporting the real rare truffles in regional development context and how they can be led to entrepreneurial discovery

Creating solid and tangible contributions to the Arctic Policy (The EU-Communication; an integrated European Union policy for the Arctic (April 27, 2016)) stakeholder meeting to be held in June 2017; The European Arctic, a host for vast natural resources and pristine nature – discovering ‘the more’ items and arguments and facts